


Choking

by MirasMirages



Series: BadThingsHappenBingo [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Choking, Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:42:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28782876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirasMirages/pseuds/MirasMirages
Summary: The room was slowly filling with guests. Henry sat by the bar with a drink, watching as one powerful person after the other entered the room, and greeting people whenever they came by the bar.He had a mission tonight. Find Adrian Lewis, seduce him, bring him back to the bedroom and get him to do something incriminating in view of the security camera.
Series: BadThingsHappenBingo [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2109921





	Choking

**Author's Note:**

> Sigh. Do I even try with these titles?  
> No. No, I don't.
> 
> First posted here 

The room was slowly filling with guests. Henry sat by the bar with a drink, watching as one powerful person after the other entered the room, and greeting people whenever they came by the bar.

He had a mission tonight. Find Adrian Lewis, seduce him, bring him back to the bedroom and get him to do something incriminating in view of the security camera. Mr. Lewis was a married conservative politician, but Charles had told Henry it would be an easy job, so he wasn’t too worried. Tonight might even be fun.

When Mr. Lewis entered the room, Henry slipped from his chair and started mingling, staying on the other side of the room, watching. When Mr. Lewis approached the bar, Henry downed the rest of his drink and went for a refill.

“Another one, please,” he said, handing his glass to the bartender and flashing Mr. Lewis a smile. “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met? I’m Henry.”

Mr. Lewis shook his hand. “Adrian Lewis. Henry, you say? Are you the one Charles took in? The, um.”

A faint blush spread across Henry’s face. This was maybe the worst part of his job, having to explain why he was there in the first place, or why he was not in school. Especially when he couldn’t tell the truth.

“Yeah, uh, Mr. Duncan gave me a place to stay,” Henry said, fingers tight on the edge of the bar. “It was, with my dad, you know, things weren’t great.” He hated telling people about his dad. It was too personal. But some people already knew, and Charles had said he wasn’t allowed to change his story, so he gritted his teeth and kept it vague. “Mr. Duncan has been very kind to me. I owe him a lot.”

Mr. Lewis nodded. “He is a good man, Charles,” he said, taking a sip of his drink and not moving to go anywhere. Good.

“He is,” Henry agreed, quickly letting his eyes run down Mr. Lewis’s body. He looked fit for his age, and his face wasn’t terrible either. Henry certainly wasn’t complaining. “What about you? What do you do?”

Henry nodded and laughed at all the right places, slowly inching closer, as Mr. Lewis talked about his political career.

“That’s so interesting,” Henry said, ‘accidentally’ brushing against him. “Your life should be in a book, or a movie. Have you considered writing an autobiography?”

Mr. Lewis laughed. “I haven’t,” he said, and from the way he was looking at Henry, it seemed like this would be an easy job. “You think I should? Would you read it?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Henry purred. “I love learning about the lives of great men. There’s a free spot on my bookshelf that I’m sure your book would fit perfectly into - wanna see?”

“Do I want to see… your bookshelf?” Mr Lewis asked, giving him a sceptical look. Okay, maybe not his best line. Still, he could work with it.

“You can see the rest of the room too,” he said, leaning in closer to trail a finger down Mr. Lewis’s chest. “Reading isn’t the only thing I do there.”

Mr. Lewis stepped back. “What are you- what are you doing!”

Shit. He did not sound happy.

“I’m just trying to get to know you better,” Henry tried, still keeping his voice soft and seductive. He didn’t want to hear the lecture Charles would give him if he failed. “Great man like you, I’m sure you’re great in more ways than one,” he said with a smirk and a wink.

“You think that- that _I_ \- I’m not like that!” Mr. Lewis hissed, taking another step away.

Fuck. Okay, backtrack.

“I’m sorry,” Henry said, not chasing after him. “I didn’t mean to offend you, I just thought, we could go somewhere more private, and-” he cut himself off. How should he get out of this? “Please don’t tell Mr. Duncan,” he asked. If Mr. Lewis realized this had been Charles’s idea, it would be a disaster.

Mr. Lewis gave him a long look before nodding. “Charles is doing you a favor by letting you stay here, boy,” he said. “You shouldn’t repay him by acting like this. It’s disgusting.” He took his drink and left, leaving Henry by the bar.

Henry started circling the room again, trying to look unaffected. As soon as he could, he took Charles aside and told him what had happened, that maybe this was a bad idea.

“You thought he would risk ruining his career by entertaining your behaviour in public?” Charles asked him, entirely unsympathetic. Henry’s face burned, and he pushed away the anger telling him to remind Charles that it had been his idea, not Henry’s. “Get him alone next time, before you try anything.”

Next time. He still had to finish his mission tonight somehow, and he’d just made it a lot harder for himself.

A few hours later the mood of the room was a lot more relaxed. People were getting drunk, the conversations were flowing, and Henry entertained himself by talking to a young woman who was there as someone’s arm candy. She giggled at everything he said, obviously into him, and it was a sorely needed confidence boost before he had to go after Mr. Lewis again. When her date was watching, he leaned in closer, touched her just a little too intimately, to make the guy come over and take her away. She gave Henry an apologetic pout, but went with the guy. Perfect.

Again, he honed in on Mr. Lewis, who was in a conversation with another man, one Henry knew. Robert Walker, or Bob to the people who knew him, was one of Charles’s close friends, who Henry was intimately familiar with.

He went up to the two men. “Good evening, Mr. Walker, Mr. Lewis,” he said, looking mostly at Bob.

“Henry, hi,” Bob said, looking between him and Mr Lewis. “Have you two met?”

“We met earlier,” Mr. Lewis nodded.

“I was telling Mr. Lewis about my book collection,” Henry said, hoping Bob would take the hint, and somehow help him out. “Bob- uh, I mean, Mr. Walker has gifted me several of the books in my collection,” he told Mr. Lewis.

“Has he now,” Mr. Lewis said, obviously a little suspicious at what was happening. “That’s kind of him.”

“It really is,” Henry agreed. “Thank you, Mr. Walker.”

Bob chuckled. “Oh, there’s no need to thank me. You’ve made it more than worth it.”

Mr. Lewis narrowed his eyes suspiciously at them.

“Did you know there’s another party going on here?” Bob asked Mr. Lewis. “For a few selected guests. Have you been there yet, Henry?”

“Not yet,” Henry said, glancing at Mr. Lewis a quick moment. “I wanted to talk to people out here first, but maybe I should. Would you like to come with me?”

“And leave Adrian out here by himself? That wouldn’t be very nice.”

“You’re right,” Henry said, pretending not to notice how interested Mr. Lewis was in their conversation. The private part of Charles’s parties were rumored, sure, but the ones who were invited rarely told outsiders what was happening there. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you weren’t invited,” he told Mr. Lewis, to the man’s obvious annoyance.

Bob laughed. “Not everyone’s as privileged as you, Henry,” he said. “Maybe you should put in a good word for him with Charles, though, then you can take him with you.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Henry said, pulling a hand through his hair. “I don’t think Mr. Lewis would want to go with me. I’m not his type.”

“What makes you say that?” Mr. Lewis said, and Henry had to hide a smile at how the man realized his mistake, and now tried to cover it. At how he didn’t realize that invite would come at a cost. “I have nothing against you.”

“Really?” Henry asked. “I thought, earlier, when I asked- I’m sorry, I must have misunderstood. That was my fault.”

“I think I see someone I need to talk to,” Bob said, giving Henry a look telling him he was expecting some kind of payment later for the help. That was fine. Henry _was_ grateful, after all. “And it sounds like you two have enough to talk about, so if you’ll excuse me.” He nodded at Mr. Lewis and left them alone.

“So, was that it?” Henry asked, bending his head a little so he could look up at Mr Lewis, even though he was taller. “Did I misunderstand?”

“I, um, yes, you did,” Mr. Lewis said. “I suppose if you really want me to you can show me your… books.”

Henry lit up. “Awesome! Come on, I’ll show you.”

He led Mr. Lewis away from the party and up to his room. It wasn’t too far, but sometimes Henry wished more people were willing to go for a broom closet instead, if only so he didn’t have to walk them back after.

“I know I said I have a lot of biographies, but right now I’m actually reading Fight Club,” Henry said as they walked. “It’s really good, have you read it?”

“I haven’t,” Mr. Lewis said, entering the room before Henry. “So, what is this really about? I know you didn’t bring you here to talk about books.

Henry smirked and walked in close. "Well, you’re right about that,” he murmured, sliding his arms up around Mr. Lewis’s neck. “Straight to the point, aren’t you?”

He was not prepared for it when he was slammed into the wall behind him, a hand closing around his throat.

“Stop messing with me, boy,” Mr. Lewis sneered, his hand tightening. Henry lifted his hands to the one around his neck, but he didn’t want to risk pissing off Mr. Lewis even more. “What is this secret party? Why do you keep trying to, to, to _touch_ me like that?”

“I, uh,” Henry said. He could still mostly breathe, but he was getting a little light headed. “I’m sorry, Sir, I just wanted…”

Wanted what, exactly? Was there anything he could say here that wouldn’t get him punched? Actually, getting punched probably wasn’t even the worst thing that could happen. He could disappoint Charles, and that would be worse. Would it be his fault, though, if he did? Charles had said Mr. Lewis would be an easy target, but it didn’t feel that way right now. _Get something incriminating on tape,_ Charles had said. Had that been a hint? There were more things than one that would be incriminating, and having him do something violent should work too - right?

“I, please,” he said, tapping Mr. Lewis’s arm. He didn’t doubt he could push the man off if he wanted, but that wouldn’t help him achieve his goal.

Mr. Lewis’s hand tightened even more, before he let go. Henry slumped against the door, coughing a little and taking deep breaths.

“Thank you,” he said.

“You’re disgusting,” Mr. Lewis said.

Henry didn’t want to admit it, but that hurt. It shouldn’t, because he knew, that’s what everyone thought, but he didn’t like hearing it. Especially not when they were alone, when there was no one there this could be a show for. He shrugged. “Does it matter?” he asked, pulling a hand through his hair. “There’s no one here. No one will know, as long as you don’t tell them,” he said. He looked straight at Mr. Lewis. “It’s really not that bad. You might even like it.”

One more try. One way or the other, he had to give Charles _something_. There were several cameras in his room, documenting everything. No matter what Mr. Lewis chose to do, they would have it on tape, and if he didn’t do anything, at least Henry could prove that he tried.

“Just give it a try,” he said, slowly going to his knees. It didn’t matter what happened next. Just a show for the cameras.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me in the comments what you think Mr. Lewis will do - I have no idea!


End file.
